Keeping your Facility & Employees Safe by Complying with CDC Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting of Businesses, Schools, and Public Spaces
As businesses begin to reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown, it’s imperative that systems and procedures are in place to protect your workforce and clients alike. The CDC has laid out strict guidelines that businesses must follow in order to reopen, and we’re here to help you decipher them.
It is worth noting that shifts in cleaning and disinfecting culture may need to take place in your workspace, so your particular budget may need adjusting to ensure that your cleaning company can keep your facility in compliance with CDC (as well as state, county, and city) guidelines.
Prevention goes hand-in-hand with protection, so let’s look at some of the ways that the CDC recommends we prepare our workplaces for our teams.
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Prevention Methods
Temperature Checks
One of the easiest ways to determine if someone is already affected by an illness is to check their temperature for a fever. With the proliferation of contactless thermometers, screening employees and clients at the door can prevent an already infected individual from entering your facility and infecting healthy people. Consider automatic temperature screening, as it will improve entry speed, and save money, versus hiring additional staff for hand held temperature scanners.
One of the easiest ways to determine if someone is already affected by an illness is to check their temperature for a fever.
Face Coverings
Face Coverings should be worn at all times when moving throughout the facility or any time social distancing cannot be maintained. Surgical masks are the most cost effective, while cloth and homemade face coverings generally do not provide adequate protection (as compared to the surgical type).
Disinfecting with Electrostatic Sprayers
Ensure that your cleaning company is taking all of the necessary precautions to keep your facility safe by switching to an EPA or CDC approved disinfectant for daily cleaning. Due to the nature of the pandemic, however, professional cleaning companies have been bringing out the heavy artillery to combat the pathogens invading our spaces.
Electrostatic sprayers produce a fine mist of disinfectant to provide full, even coverage of potentially contaminated surfaces. When used with an EPA approved disinfectant, weekly electrostatic sprayer-administered disinfecting provides the best, and most thorough, coverage to kill the most germs. These sprayers also will not over-saturate or damage electronics or surfaces. Electrostatic sprayers require that the operator wear proper PPE, so this work is best done by a professional disinfecting service like Spotless Cleaning Chicago.
Make High-touch Points Touchless
Consider installing touchless fixtures and dispensers in place of manually operated devices. Faucet handles and soap, sanitizer, and paper towel dispensers can all be replaced with automatic versions to help reduce the risk of transmitting any germs. Dispensers can also be added near doors and elevators to encourage the use of sanitizer after touching handles and buttons.
If you currently use visitor sign-in sheets, switch to QR code systems where guests can scan a code to access a form to enter their personal information before entering. Install card readers and automatic door openers to keep people from having to touch key cards and door handles. If your facility does not have automatic door openers, leave doors open unless, of course, it poses a security threat. All of these techniques will minimize physical contact while in high traffic areas.
Install HEPA-approved filters and UV light filtration into your HVAC system to help minimize airborne transmission of particulates and pathogens.
Cleaning and Disinfecting Shared Resources and Spaces
Anywhere people tend to gather can become a potential danger area for contamination.
With some schools having recently returned to session, disinfecting these spaces is of the utmost importance. Disinfecting the entire school on a regular basis will help ensure that the teachers and students have a safe place to learn and teach. Places like classrooms and auditoriums can contain many high-touch areas, so an electrostatic disinfecting service will be beneficial in these areas.
Install HEPA-approved filters and UV light filtration into your HVAC system to help minimize airborne transmission of particulates and pathogens. Air filters should be changed more frequently than the manufacturer’s recommendation, as pathogens can accumulate in HVAC systems that are constantly in use.
Ask employees to disinfect copy, break, and lunch rooms (any items that were touched) after use. Wiping down surfaces that were touched can help prevent the room-to-room spread of germs.
Requiring employees to disinfect their workstations at the end of each shift can also help prevent the spread of germs to others.
If you run a restaurant/bar or a facility with a lunch room, there are extra precautions that must be taken to keep everyone safe. Many businesses now have menu and order/pay system capabilities through various websites and apps. These same systems can be used in countless other industries, so research and find the features and functions that work best for your facility.
Other courses of action to consider in food and drink stations include:
- Removing coffee creamer and sugar containers and switching to single-serve packets.
- Removing lids from containers holding single serve items.
- Providing sealed single use utensils.
- Adding a sanitizing station near the microwave and refrigerator.
Enhanced Daily Cleaning
Your preferred professional cleaning and disinfecting service can come up with an enhanced daily plan to increase the monitoring of high-touch points and high traffic areas.
Consider your budget when hiring a decontamination service. Do not go overboard on a one-off service that kills the virus and your budget. Instead, work with a qualified and certified commercial cleaning company that can implement a budget-friendly recurring disinfecting program, which will significantly enhance your efforts to keep your facility clean and safe.
Most importantly, it is recommended that businesses designate one or more persons to continuously disinfect the space throughout the normal hours of operation (or when the maximum amount of traffic flows through the facility). These employees should wipe down high-touch areas and disinfect any surfaces that might become compromised.
Consulting and familiarizing yourself with the CDC guidelines will help you come up with a comprehensive plan to make sure no areas of your facility get overlooked.
It is recommended that businesses designate one or more persons to continuously disinfect the space throughout the normal hours of operation.
Consult a Trained and Prepared Cleaning and Disinfecting Service
Spotless Cleaning Chicago has been working hard since early March 2020 to secure orders in anticipation of the reopening of the businesses and facilities that we serve. Our pricing on the most crucial pathogen-fighting equipment and supplies is very competitive due to early purchase agreements. Give us a call or with any questions you may have regarding your reopening plan or requests for supplies.